Crucified Frog by Martin Kippenberg at MoMA for Good Friday

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

By TAHLIB

"Feet First" (1990) by Martin Kippenberger at MoMA

"Feet First" (1990) by Martin Kippenberger is a four foot high wooden sculpture of a crucified frog in loincloth, brandishing a mug of beer and an egg. The Pope called it "blasphemous." The exhibition, "Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective" at the Museum of Modern Art embraces the full range of his output and while the curators don't make the claim that it is comprehensive, this exhibition introduced me to one of the most inventive and influential bodies of artwork of the late twentieth century. It begins however with this message: "Everything in moderation," counseled Aristotle. Martin Kippenberger never got this message, as a good friend pointed out after the artist's death at age forty-four in 1997. The exhibit ends on May 11, 2009.